Germantown Academy hosted the second annual Ginny Hoffman 44 Day on October 1st. This event honors Ms. Ginny Hoffman, who previously served as the athletic director of GA for 40 consecutive years.
Ms. Hoffman highlighted women in athletics throughout her time at GA and left a large impact on our community, especially on female athletes. Only female teams participated in this special day in respect to Ms. Hoffman; her legacy thrives through our athletes and inspires them to fulfill her aspirations.
As Ginny Hoffman 44 Day approached, the coaches of our female teams prepared the teams for this notable event. Mr. Chris Nelson, Head Coach of Girls Varsity Soccer, and Mrs. Dakota Carroll, Assistant Coach of Girls Varsity Soccer, shared their ideas regarding the importance of Ginny Hoffman 44 Day. Mr. Nelson said “Ms. Hoffman was largely responsible for getting women’s athletics at GA to where they are today and celebrating her is the minimum of what we should be doing.” Coach Dakota then said, “The day symbolizes how much Ms. Hoffman has done to pave the way for women’s athletics; it’s a super powerful day to celebrate together.”
Mr. Nelson and Mrs. Carroll then discussed their takeaways from the event. Mr. Nelson said, “Ms. Hoffman had great energy throughout the day and I think it’s amazing to be able to celebrate a living legend.” Mrs. Carroll said “it was great to see our tight knit community in action, in honor of Ginny.”
Following the lead of our coaches, the team captains of our female sports helped in coordinating Ginny Hoffman 44 Day and ensured that their teammates were ready to honor Ms. Hoffman through their games.
Ellie Smith ’23 and Kate Stone ’23, Senior Captains of the Girls Varsity Volleyball Team, offered their input regarding the team’s excitement as well as the significance of Ginny Hoffman 44 Day. Smith said, “It’s important to have a day that represents women in sports because all of the teams were able to support one another.” Stone further said, “Ms. Hoffman seems like an incredible person and although I’ve never gotten the privilege of interacting with her, knowing that she made such a heavy impact on GA’s women’s athletics makes it exciting to be able to carry on her legacy as a team captain.”
Lastly, the two described their team’s positive energy throughout the event and some of their takeaways. Smith stated, “I noticed that there were a lot more supporters at our game which elevated the energy of the team; we wanted to play for Ms. Hoffman.”
The day started with a win for field hockey against Mount Saint Joseph Academy, 5-1. Unfortunately, both cross country and tennis were canceled due to rain. However, the soccer team proved superior to the Hill School, 4-1. Water Polo fell to the Hill School 13-10, but still had a great game! Finally, Volleyball triumphed over Gwynedd Mercy Academy 5-3 in an insanely close match.
Ms. Hoffman’s pioneering for women’s sports allowed the growth of female athletics from a mere five sports overall to having six sports in one season. Ms. Hoffman paved the way for the caliber and bright future of GA’s female athletics.